Australian senate inquiry recommends a ban on single-use plastics

A Senate inquiry into Australia’s recycling problem has recommended that all single-use plastics should be banned by 2023.

The inquiry suggests the creation of a national containers deposit scheme as a response to some Australian councils having to divert its recycling to landfill and found that it would improve the quality of recycling and lower the cost.

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Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said that the ban could include containers, chip packets, plastic bags and coffee cups with plastic linings.

It also sets out a blueprint to create a circular economy in response to the China ban as the best long-term solution to the problem.

The Greens Senator said: “The Senate has laid down a clear pathway for Australia to create a circular economy and stop piles of plastic, paper and glass being stockpiled or heading to landfill.”

Within the report, it found that the current recycling problem has offered an opportunity to reform the country’s waste system that could not be missed.

It stated: “While China’s decision to restrict the import of certain categories of waste has triggered the current crisis in the Australian waste management sector, in fact, there have been underlying problems in the sector for some time.”